“So .. am trying again , and hoping that Tumblr. behaves .. if Tumblr. is reading this , whoever they are .. let me tell you how terribly cruel it is to destroy a work of creativity .. it may not be of any value to you or any other, but for the writer , what he goes through in his mind to document, is the most valued for him .. when it disappears because of your technology misappropriation it is devastating .. for the writer that frame of mind that thought has gone for good .. never to be brought back again ..

I do hope you realise this ..”

PS: I didn’t write this – Big B did.

As a kid I grew up with his movies – awe – struck by his action and dialogues; later as I became an adult – I was swayed by the khans of the world , only to return back to witness the metamorphosis of this  “Angry young man” into a  “Wise old man”

On his 77th birthday – I was curious to find out more about this living legend. My love for the way he enacts his roles – is now transformed into deep reverence for a gentle, kind and humble person. Along this journey to discover his personality, I read about 1000 of his blogs  (he has written 4237 blogs till now!)

And here’s what I figured:

1. He is a very determined and resilient man: In his blog – he talks about Tumbler not working several times – but that doesn’t stop him from writing every single day. Some of his blogs are written at 3:24 am … seriously – can writing be so compelling for a writer !

2. He is introspective and reflective – Given to very abstract metaphors, he has a way of expressing his thoughts and emotions – for instance -very rarely do his sentences have a “full stop” – usually …. he completes his sentences with ellipses or rather leaves incomplete sentences…. which makes us wonder about his mood or change in thoughts

3. He is very systematic – Whether his twitter handle or blog – every article , every tweet is stamped with a number, date, place and time

4. His observations & connect on thoughts, emotions, rituals – is nothing short of inspiring. The articulation, the depth , the resonance – clearly a poet writing and not a Glitzy Bollywood actor.

5. His orientation towards relationships and tasks – seem to be very balanced – one one hand he talks about office paper work to be completed and the other about how women of India break free from mindsets….

6. Devoid of Bollywood glamor, the blog is filled with his own images – some candid , some posed- I am not sure if he chooses the pics or someone he often refers to as “backend” chooses – yet – it gives a whole life to the blog – making it human and more connectible.

As I read the blogs – I couldn’t help but wonder ….

• What motivates this man to persist when he is on the other side of seventies?
• What energises him to still work when most will put up their feet and claim privileges for a life well lived?
• What keeps him awake at 3.24 am to write on tumblr when there are ” no likes” / “no shares” to track?

There is only one thing – that comes to my mind – which is “one’s striving to realise one’s potential”

Is that a right or a privilege ?

Or better still – Shouldn’t that be our fundamental duty to ourselves

As he writes on tumblr on Sep 26th 2019 at 10.17 pm – “I will endure .. I will persevere .. I will not wilt .. I shall fight .. I shall endeavour ..”

PS: At Able Ventures, we are creating a series of training programs based on Big B – if you or anyone you know is a fan of Big B – please connect with us – info@ableventures.in – we are looking at working with passionate fans to  research and help us build the content !